Abstract

Cross-sectional survey of adaptation strategies in the public sector to demographic changes in transformation societies Abstract: Demographic change is a central problem for the future of modern societies. It threatens to negatively influence the development of societies in transition. A result of demographic upheaval a gradual collapse is predicted for the national community. It is debatable whether these tragic consequences are inevitable. The consequences of demographic challenges are mediated by actor-specific coping strategies and institutional frameworks. The object of the research project is to investigate the way society deals with the problem of demographic aging in an exemplary field, namely the human resources of the public sector. The Goal of this research project is to investigate the nature of the personnel-related coping strategies in the public sector to demographic changes, the reasons for this, as well as their consequences. Purpose of the Study: What strategies can be observed in the local government and municipal education in response to demographic changes? Can individual reaction patterns be assigned to specific consequences? Goal of the research project is to investigate the nature of the personnel-related coping strategies in the public sector in dealing with demographic changes, the reasons for this, as well as their consequences. Theoretical approach: Demographic changes such as aging and shrinking are special challenges for the public sector due its inflexible labor market structures Key results: In a first step the forms of perception of demographic change in the municipalities are described, then the observations sensors and the patterns of interpretation of the communities' perceptions. In the second step the reactions of the local personnel policy to the challenges of demographic change are presented. The focus is on the flexibility of adapting local job opportunities to the altered situation. In the concluding last step the quantitative effects of the selected response strategies are analyzed. The key elements are the financial implications of demographic change for the communities and an exemplary analysis of changes in employment in the Polish teacher labor market, including a comparative analysis of generation-specific casualisation.

In each region seven municipalities (two growing, two shrinking, two stable and a regional center) were included in the study. A sampling criterion was the local population dynamics between the years 1995 and 2005. The selection of communities took place in two stages for East Germany and Poland. In the first stage two federal states/ districts were selected that had a significant population increase since 1990. Subsequently, the second step was the sampling of the municipalities. For West Germany one federal state was selected as a basis of comparison. A further sampling criterion was the socially institutionalized autonomy: - Diachronically on the transformation path (East Germany: incorporated, Poland: autonomous) and a region without any post-socialist transformation (West Germany) - Synchronous development of the state (East Germany, West Germany: federal, Poland: decentralized unitarist)